Just-in-Time Access vs. Birthright Access

In identity and access management, Just-in-Time (JIT) Access and Birthright Access represent diametrically opposed philosophies with respect to granting users access privileges in an organization. Birthright Access implies a broad, static set of permissions granted as a matter of default, whereas JIT Access is modern and fluid, with a focus on security, that grants users, or even machines, exactly the access they need, when they need it, and for the duration they need it. For any digital environment to be secure and compliant, it is critical to understand how these two models are distinguishable.

Understanding Birthright Access

As outlined previously, Birthright Access consists of automatic, baseline permissions given to users (generally employees) simply for being part of the organization, irrespective of their role or job functions.

• Characteristics: "One size fits all" with a generally available set of permissions that may include access to email, an intranet, common shared drives, and various standard productivity tools.

• Common Rational: Organizations use it because it represents a degree of administrative simplicity, along with a rapid onboarding methodology, which allows an organization to immediately allow new hires to be then productive.

• Fundamental Flaws: The primary flaw of Birthright Access is that it fundamentally contradicts Least Privilege Access (LPA) to the fullest extent. A user will automatically receive far more access than is required for doing their job, exposing the organization, leaving a broad attack surface and increasing insider threat and compliance risk. The issue with permissions granted by birthright access is that they tend to be static and persistent.

Understanding Just-in-Time (JIT) Access

Just-in-Time (JIT) Access is a dynamic access management approach and very different than birthright access. JIT Access is where access permissions are granted at the moment they are needed, and for only that task, and automatically removed when that task is completed, or after a pre-determined time limit has passed. JIT Access is based on a "just-in-time" or "on-demand" access model that prioritizes temporary and highly granular permissions.

Core Tenets of Just-in-Time Access:

• Temporary: We grant access for a limited, short duration (e.g., 30 minutes, 2 hours).

• On-Demand: We provision access permissions only when a user or machine explicitly requests access for a narrowly defined, justifiable reason.

• Granular: We are highly specific in the resource, action, and context needed (e.g., "read-only access to specific database table X for 1 hour," not "administrator access to all databases").

• Audited: Every JIT access permission, approval, and action is logged in detail for complete traceability and compliance purposes.

• Automatic Revocation: JIT Access is removed automatically when the agreed access time has elapsed - no more standing privileges.

Just-in-Time Access vs. Birthright Access Comparison

Why Is JIT Access the Best Modern Security Approach?

JIT Access is often viewed as better and more secure because it directly addresses the inherent vulnerabilities in Birthright Access and aligns perfectly with modern cybersecurity concepts:

• Reduce Attack Surface: Removing standing privileges, JIT largely negates the timeframe an attacker can exploit compromised credentials. If access is unavailable unless it is being used, it can’t be taken or abused.

• True Least Privilege Access Authority: JIT achieves LPA by assuring the user (and machines) have the permissions needed at the time they needed them. Nothing more. This is foundational to a good security posture.

• Better Compliance: The temporary and auditable nature of JIT access provides verifiable assurance of access controls, making it far easier to comply with stringent regulatory requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOX, FedRAMP, SOC 2).

• Strong Zero Trust Foundation: JIT is a cornerstone in Zero Trust architecture where every access request is protected instead of being trusted. Unlike never-ending escalation, the verification, authentication, and authorizations of requests requires legitimate purpose and effort.

• Enhanced Auditability and Forensics: Comprehensive logs of every JIT access request, duration, and related activity will provide a very useful source for security auditing and forensic investigations after an incident.

• Reduced Operational Overhead (Long-term): While some effort is required up front, the automated JIT processes reduce the ongoing manual effort associated with managing static permissions, periodic access reviews, and cleaning up "access bloat."

• Improved User Experience (for those authorized tasks): For legitimate users, JIT access can allow for immediate self-service access to elevated permissions on the specific task they actually need, instead of waiting days for approval.

Transitioning from Birthright Access to JIT Access is Not Without its Challenges

Transitioning from a Birthright Access model to a JIT Access model will present challenges:

• Cultural Change: Users and IT will need to embrace a different mindset for access.

• Integrated Complexity: Identify how to integrate JIT into existing applications, databases, and infrastructure requirements.

• Granularity: Figure out what the precise, granular permissions for every possible task will be.

• Potential Initial User Friction: Users may perceive JIT access to be an extra step if not properly implemented, affecting the user experience.

How ReShield Helps with Transitioning to JIT Access

ReShield's identity security platform is explicitly designed to help organizations move away from the risk of Birthright Access and into a more secure and efficient Just-in-Time (JIT) Access model.

• Policy-Driven JIT Provisioning: ReShield allows organizations to create granular policies for JIT provisioning of temporary access based on assigned role, request, and time duration, eliminating unnecessary standing and potentially inappropriate birthright permissions.

• Automated Lifecycle Management: ReShield governs all aspects of the JIT access lifecycle, from request to automatic revoking. In JIT mode, permissions will only be temporary with access bloat (which is a large concern with birthright access) actively prevented.

• Thorough and Fully Auditable Audit Trails: Every JIT access event – including who requested the access, for what reason, when it was granted, for how long, and what actions the user performed – will be precisely logged and easily auditable with ReShield. This will provide the necessary accountability and transparency for compliance reporting or security investigations.

• Integrate with Your Existing Systems: ReShield can easily integrate with different enterprise systems, applications, and cloud environments, providing the option for JIT access from across your entire infrastructure without the need for disruptive restructuring.

• Least Privilege and Zero Trust Support: ReShield's JIT access, with its inherent temporary and granular access features, is a vital building block to achieving an authentic Least Privilege Access (LPA) security model, and an important foundation for implementing a solid Zero Trust security framework. It is fundamentally the opposite of inherent trust provided in birthright models.

• Reduced Administrative Burden: ReShield will do the heavy lifting when it comes to your JIT workflows, which will assist with the reduction of time and manual effort taken to manage complicated access scenarios and allow security teams to focus on more important activities than policing (i.e., managing) static broad-based permissions.

Using ReShield, organizations will be able to successfully discard the vulnerabilities and threats associated with Birthright Access, and safely and securely give authorized users and their machine identities dynamic and compliant Just-in-Time Access.